Deliverance.

Well…that was quite a day yesterday was it not?

A thrilling mix of tragedy, hilarity and the triumph over bad car-ma.

Saturday 29th September 2012 was the day Buckweeds, Mr  Jolly and I made the trip to deepest Wales to pick up the boat.

We got there mid morning. 

OK. 

So far so good... 

Found the boat on the trailer. Marvelled at her magnificence. Orca - like. 

Morale was high high high. 

Congratulated ourselves on our good taste & luck. 

We are indeed now officially captains.

Look at that wheel...

What's not to like?

Masking tape....that's what we need....

*Sound of Laurel and Hardy music in the distant background*

Got everything sorted and attached the trailer to the VW. All electrics working fine - brake lights, indicators etc…

Off we tootled. An hour back to Hereford? Easy. No rush; take it nice and steady.

200 yards down the road a Welsh man in a small red car was seen to be gesticulating wildly at us. 

We waved back in good natured camaraderie but this seemed to agitate him even more. 

It appeared the electric cable had come adrift and was trailing done the road. 

We got out. 

The connector plug was split and knackered. We decided not to tell Buckweeds who stayed in the driving seat clinging on the steering wheel, an increasing feeling of terror developing like a shaken Polaroid on his face.

3 miles down the road we stopped to have a further check. This time no plug at all just bare wires. Oh. Dear.

For further 'laughs' the tyre on one side of the trailer looked like a blackened, deflated balloon and we still had 20 miles to go. Don't know how that happened - we all had kicked that tyre on the preliminary visual inspection; that's usually enough isn't it?

Press on we thought. 

Had no choice actually…

1 mile later Buckweeds was heard to say "she's shimmying boys…something is very wrong back there".

Got to the border between Wales and England. 

So far so good....again.

12 miles to the 'Ford.

Ka-pop/boom/plop/ping/zing/loud raspberry! 
Jolly shouts "There she goes!!".  

The car veers to the right. 

We look out the back of the car. 
DISASTER.

The boat is now tilted 45 degrees to the left. 

Sparks can be seen. 

An unpleasant scraping sound can be heard. 

We managed to stop from 40mph to zero in a few seconds. 

We jump out. 

Entire wheel and suspension of trailer has broken off and is 50 yards back up the road. 

Jolly runs off back up the road to get it.

I look at Buckweeds. 

He looks at me. 

Time stands still. 

We grimace. 

We laugh, sort of. 

Nobody hurt. 

Shouldn't there be a wheel somewhere boys?

 Now what? 3 dudes in the middle of a bend in no man's land between England and Wales. A boat in the middle of aforementioned road. A trailer. 1 wheel on. 1 off.

Panic. 

Frantically pull boat into hedge. 

Put our backs out in process. 

Whilst Buckweeds is out of earshot Jolly and I entertain the option of pulling the registration plate off and dumping the boat in the hedge. We immediately realised that we lived by the motto of 'never leave a man behind' and so this was not an option.

Please note the wiggly road warning and the boat stranded in the distance. 

Oh the irony.

Anyway turns out I was a member of the AA and they do a "knackered, one wheeled rusty trailer for a dirty boat" callout service. It was our 'lucky' day.

We waited. 

During the wait we became more hungry and despondent. Buckweeds found 1 mint in the car and immediately scoffed it. Cheers pal. 

We could have split that 3 ways.

Waiting for the AA man. 
(One of these chaps has had a sly mint. Greedy)

A chap came in a yellow coat 1 hour later. 

He looked us up and down. 

Made a call to HQ. Made a few disparaging remarks to the girl on the other end and then called a flat bed truck for us.

Another hour until another chap was due. 

A lovely day. 

What to do? 

Did we do what any conscientious, sensible road users should do; 

i.e stay with the boat to ensure it's security and our safety?

I should coco. 

We nipped off down the road to "The Dog Inn' (leave it) at Ewyas Harold. 

Here we had some local beer and a lovely bar meal. Great stuff.

The other chap eventually came, scratched his head and then loaded 'our lass' onto the back. 

A leisurely drive back to the lock up with us in good spirits. 

So our boat is now in a local lock up. 

We need a welder to get the trailer wheel back on.  

The restoration can then really begin.

Watch this space.

'Here you can'....be sure to come across 3 irresponsible seamen.

Your caption here.